The Marauders: Live at Pelly!
by prongswhatthefuck
Summary: Mary is an intern at a recording studio and brings along Marlene and Lily to meet the up and rising band, the Marauders. One of the band members, James, takes an interest in Lily. And thus a relationship begins.
1. Chapter 1

Marlene commentated on the blatant fakeness of the reality TV show that they were watching as Lily attempted the appearance of paying attention to what she was saying. The steady stream of squawking from the overly-privileged stars was abruptly interrupted by the sound of their landline ringing. Glad for the excuse, Lily shot up to grab it.

"Evans and Mckinnon residence, Evans speaking," Lily said into the receiver.

"Lily it's Mary. I need you and Marlene to come down to the station right now. The Marauders - I repeat: The Marauders are here to be interviewed. I don't know how long they'll be so you need to get here fast."

"The what?" asked Lily.

"Who is it?" called Marlene from the den.

"It's Mary. She said something about the Marauders being at the station or something like-" She hadn't the chance to finish her sentence on account of Marlene bursting into the kitchen to snatch the phone from Lily.

"Mary? It's Mar. We'll be there in 5 minutes, max." Marlene slammed the phone down and yelled at Lily in passing:

"Grab your coat!"

Lily did as instructed but was still bewildered by what had transpired to quickly. "Who are the Marauders?"

"Only the greatest band in existence," Marlene replied with a grunt as she forced her boot on. "Both as equally hot as they are talented and we're going to meet them. That is, if you ever hurry up!"

"I'm grabbing a scarf, calm down. They may be famous but they can wait a few extra minutes. Contrary to what you may think, musicians are people too."

"Yeah yeah," Marlene mumbled. "You can explain to me the unfairness of fame on the way there." She started pushing Lily out the door, which only made Lily walk even slower just to spite her. "Make sure you don't mention any of that new-world thinking rubbish,"

However crudely put, she had to agree with Marlene that meeting critically-acclaimed musicians was not the time for her feminist lectures, no matter how insightful they were. Lily listened - slightly amused - as Marlene began to demonstrate her extent of Marauders' trivia all the way to Radiocenter, where Mary had recently began her media internship.

After paying the cabbie and entering the spotless building, Lily pulled out her mobile to text Mary they'd arrived but was greeted by Mary herself instead.

"OK, they're just finishing up their interviews so we're going to have to be quick if we want to talk to them before they go."

"Are they leaving town?" Lily asked.

"No, but they've got loads of other interviews to do while in Pelly so we won't get to talk to them 'cept for now,"

Mary navigated them through identical halls with surprising efficiency for an intern and stopped in front of a large door that had a sign lit up in bright red that read "ON AIR." She instructed them to wait outside while they finished up. Minutes later, she waved them in.

The band had done a live performance and were packing up a few of their instruments when Mary opened the door. Even though she'd gotten the OK from boss, she still entered timidly, as if afraid she was violating some civilian lifestyle rule.

Even if she hadn't heard them play, Lily was certain their music was flawless based off the looks of the boys. Each had such a different appearance but were equally beautiful. Possibly the most attractive quality was how normal they seemed, despite their fame. It humbled Lily's predisposition of them.

"Erm, hi," Mary said softly. Almost as if an afterthought, she extended her hand robotically. The musicians smiled pleasantly and each shook her hand - not at all annoyed by her nerves. "I'm Mary. I work here. Well sort of; I'm an intern really but I still get all the access and stuff so really it's not that big of a -" She was cut off by Marlene, who casually nudged her babbling friend in her side. "Oh right, hah!" She chuckled lightly. "These are my friends: Marlene and Lily." Mary gestured to them both.

Marlene walked straight up to the band with all the confidence that Mary had lacked.

"Hi, I'm Marlene. _Such_ a big fan! I own every album, know every song and even know all the trivia the tabloids will provide. I love you guys. Your music is just so…inspiring." She said while shaking each of their hands for a time generously over the traditional amount. The band chuckled and shared looks of amusement with each other.

Lily remained the only one to have not properly introduced herself. When realizing so, she approached them and began to explain her lack of knowledge.

"I really hate to admit it but I actually am not quite the superfan that Marlene is. She can probably list your blood types and I don't even know your names."

"Well we'll have to fix that then won't we?" Spoke one of them with the long dark hair and atrociously good looks. "I'm Sirius, that's Remus, Peter, and James." He introduced each of them in their respective order of seating.

Lily shook Sirius' hand with a warm smile and moved down the line. The one named Remus gave her the most genuine smile she ever thought possible from someone in the music business. He was covered in tattoos, but not in a manner that made it seem like he was attempting to be tough. Each tattoo was so unique that it was obvious his collection of ink was deeply connected to his past, and not just a drunken dare from frat brothers at university. There was something about Remus that immediately made Lily feel like she could trust him, despite having just met him.

The next one, Peter, was the most different from all of them. Larger in size, he paled in comparison to the exquisite figure of Remus or Sirius. Still, he had a boyish charm about him. He appeared to have decent sun exposure as shown by his light covering of freckles and his sandy-blonde hair. If in a different setting, Lily could very well see herself befriending Peter for a multitude of reasons.

The last band member offered his hand to Lily as she moved towards him.

"James," He introduced himself.

"Lily," She replied.

"Do you have a last name, Lily?"

"I do, but you didn't give me yours so I don't see why I should give you mine." She countered with a light chuckle.

A smile broke out on James' face and he stood up to his full height, probably a whole head taller than her. He looked, quite literally, down on her and grinned. He extended his hand for the second time and said:

"James Potter, pleased to meet you."

"Lily Evans, likewise." said she, shaking his hand.

Maybe it was Lily's imagination, but James seemed to reluctantly released her hand.

"Peter, when is our last interview?" he asked.

"It starts at four, why?"

"Miss Evans, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"


	2. Chapter 2

They had hardly left the building before Marlene and Mary were bombarding Lily with questions and suggestions.

"Lily," Marlene pulled her aside on the sidewalk, held her arms-length away, and looked at her seriously. "I want you to think about this very carefully. It is of utter importance."

She paused for dramatic effect.

"What are you going to wear?"

Lily broke from her grasp and rolled her eyes. She continued walking down the street and looked for a cab. This forced Marlene and Mary to lightly jog in order to catch up with her.

"Lils I'm serious!" Marlene persisted once she'd caught up.

"I'm going to have to agree with Marlene on this one." Mary added. "Usually James only asks like super hot celebrities out,"

"Gee, thanks," Lily sarcastically replied.

"I didn't mean it like that. All I'm saying is that this is kind of a rarity and you shouldn't underestimate the importance of the right outfit, especially when he doesn't know who you are and what you stand for."

"Mary's right," spoke up Marlene. "Every other girl he's gone out with has at least been in the tabloids for a year. Anything you want to know about her was just a page away. But you," Here, she gestured at Lily from head to toe. "You are an enigma. He only knows your name. When you show up at the restaurant tonight, your outfit is going to be the first thing he sees. It has to represent you. It has to be perfect."

"It's just an outfit." Lily hailed a cab and they crammed inside as she gave him the address back to their flat.

Marlene feigned being stabbed in the chest and fell across both Mary and Lily's lap. The cabbie raised an eye through the mirror but remained silent. "Just an outfit? Oh you poor thing. Honey, an outfit is a metaphor not just for who you are, but for who you want to be. It tells the world what you stand for." She held her head high and looked at the other girls from the view of her imaginary soapbox.

"Well I only wear jumpers and jeans, so what does that say about me?" Challenged Lily.

"It means," snarked Marlene. "That we need to go shopping."

Lily groaned. "No it doesn't. Why can't I just borrow something from your closet, Mar?"

"Unless you want James to mistakenly take you for a prostitute, I would rethink that concept." snickered Mary. This earned Mary an elbow to the tit.

"Shut it," barked Marlene. "But she's only right in the sense that you can't look like me, because you are not me. You have to look like you. Just like a fancier version of you."

The cab pulled over to the side of the road outside of their flat. Lily moved to pay him but Marlene beat her to it, saying that she would instead have to let Marlene and Mary have final say on the outfit she chose.

"You know," countered Lily. "James asked me out looking like this," She gestured to her slightly tattered coat - it had been her dad's - and her handknitted scarf from her mother. Neither article exactly said "rockstar royalty material."

"Okay good point, but this isn't just meeting him. This is a date; with a rockstar nonetheless. Your dad's coat won't cut it for a date. You need something new."

"We don't have time to shop," argued Lily. She was running out of excuses.

"It's only two, we have plenty of time!"

"When did he say to meet?" asked Mary.

"Nine," answered Marlene before Lily could.

"Exactly," Mary spoke again. "That's plenty of time."

"Especially for an award-winning shopper such as me." beamed Marlene. Lily knew there wasn't actually shopping awards, but she also knew that if there were Marlene would be among the first to be nominated.

Lily gave in as she was unlocking the door to their apartment. "But check my closet because there might be something useful!" She shouted at the girls as they tore to her room in search of a usable item.

She unwound her scarf and removed her coat. Hesitantly she moved towards her room to see the mess they'd made. Lily watched them move her perfectly organized articles around and toss them on the floor. Marlene threw a strapless bra at her.

"Put this on," she commanded. When receiving questioning looks from both Mary and Lily she elaborated. "In case we find a strapless dress."

Lily obeyed and stripped off her shirt and changed bras. She flopped on her bed where about a quarter of her closet laid. 5 minutes later it seemed Marlene and Mary were satisfied. They'd made a pile on top of Lily consisting of a very few basic items: a flowy skirt that she had found at a flea market, a tie around crop top that Marlene had given Lily for her birthday, a long sleeve black turtleneck, and a few other items that Lily had only worn once or twice.

"Anything strike your fancy?" asked Mary.

"Really, we were being generous with even these few. We really didn't have a lot to work with." Marlene said blatantly.

"I don't know," Lily hesitated. "These are all kind of casual, aren't they? I don't want to show up in something I'd wear to a concert or anything."

Despite Lily having rejected Marlene's selections, she beamed at Lily and Mary. "Shopping it is then!"

"Fine." grumbled Lily.

The outlets were only a few blocks away so they elected to walk. Upon arriving, Marlene was already tearing towards a store and dragging Mary and Lily along.

In terms of shopping, Marlene was a fiend. She hardly looked at the items before placing them into Lily's hands. In a mere 10 minutes Lily had to dump a load into her dressing room before her arms fell off. Mary, on the other hand, was much more discriminatory. She looked meticulously through each rack and selected only a few crowning items to make it to the dressing room.

Per Marlene's request, Lily modeled each outfit. This proved rather difficult as Lily somewhat refused to actually show off the outfit with confidence, due to the fact that most of the items Mar had chosen were scantily clad.

When it came to the items that Mary had chosen, Lily modeled with a tad more credence. One of the last outfits, a yellow 50s esque dress that was very pin-up fashion, ended up looking like it was sewed right on Lily's pale, freckled body. It hugged the perfect places while leaving the skirt pleasantly moveable and swift. The mustard tinge not only brought out her dazzling red hair, but the bronze freckles that peeked out from underneath it.

"Damn," admired Marlene.

"It's perfect," beamed Mary.

Lily couldn't disagree. Even if the date didn't work out, the dress was perfect for a lot of things. She couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. She moved at every angle possible, trying to find a way in which it was unflattering. But to no avail. The dress was perfect, truly.

"I hate to break up the happy couple, but it's almost 5." Mary spoke up.

"You're right. I'll go pay."

As much as she hated to take the dress off, Lily took comfort in that she would be putting it back on in a few hours.

The girls walked back to their flat satisfied with their purchases. Lily hadn't really noticed it but Marlene and Mary had picked up a few things of their own while helping Lily. This made her feel somewhat better about them having dedicated a few hours just to find an outfit for Lily. But really, what are friends for?

When they got inside the apartment, Lily, exhausted, flopped on their couch and flicked on the telly. Marlene walked over and flicked it back off.

"Oi!" protested Lily.

"It's 5:30," Mary said.

"So?"

"So you need to start getting ready,"

"I have 4 hours," grumbled Lily.

"Give thirty minutes for travel time, an hour for showering, thirty for shaving, an hour for hair, an hour for makeup, and thirty to pick out accessories. That leaves you with," Mary paused and looked up as if at a invisible chalkboard. "Actually you're late by an hour,"

"Better get moving!" warned Marlene as she pulled Lily up and shoved her towards the bathroom.

"I'm going, I'm going…" Lily mumbled as she shuffled off to begin the hours-long process.


	3. Chapter 3

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The process has actually only taken two and a half hours. It would have been shorter, had not Marlene and Mary been badgering her about every single detail of Lily's routine. This meant that Lily had about thirty minutes left until she had to leave. It also meant that now Lily had time to freak out about what she was getting herself into. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"James seemed like a nice guy, but what if he was really pompous and was just using her to seem like he was charitable? Or what if Lily accidentally offended him and he made it his life goal to ruin her reputation. There were so many ways it could go wrong. Maybe it would be best to just take a rain check…/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was almost as if Marlene could read minds because just as Lily was having doubts, she burst into the room with a speaker, followed closely by Mary. They were blasting a song Lily had never heard but she couldn't help grin as the dorks danced around her room. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You need to get hyped!" Marlene shouted over the music. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""This is going to be the greatest night of your life!" screamed Mary. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They dragged Lily around the room with them, dancing so horribly that Lily's old dance teacher would have cried. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Marlene shouted the words to the song and Mary joined in on the parts she knew. The song was quite good and Lily found herself thinking that she might even listen to it again. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Who is this?" she asked them./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you daft? It's the Marauders!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maybe this date wouldn't be so bad after all. Reasonably, if someone can produce decent music, then they must be a decent person, right? /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lily checked her watch; somehow it had gotten to be 8:45 without them noticing. She swore and flopped across the bed to get her bag and coat. Mary and Mar followed her to the door and wished her good luck as she tore off down the stairs. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As she dashed out her apartment building, she was caught in a sprinkling of rain. Nothing too heavy but it certainly wasn't practical for date night. Lily pulled her coat over her hair and attempted to hail a cab. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She did the math as the driver started to go. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant and she only had ten. Also, it was a Friday and everyone eighteen through thirty was bound to be out clubbing so there was bound to be traffic. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The car ride also didn't do anything for her nerves. It just gave her time to worry about more things. Was he already there? Did he want to arrive fashionably late? Lily was usually right on time by being places ten minutes prior. It was so unlike her and she hated to think that James might think this was a regular occurrence/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After was seemed like hours of agonizingly slow driving, she paid for the cab and rushed inside the restaurant. Perhaps if she hadn't been late, slightly damp, and extremely anxious she would have taken in her setting. It wasn't an unfathomably nice restaurant, but rather, quite quaint and modest. Its walls were covered in red wallpaper that was almost completely masked by all the paintings they had up. Everywhere you looked, there was some sort of piece of art from every era and of every genre. And yet, they weren't familiar pieces of art, they were actually local artists paintings, graciously displayed by the restaurant/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lily gave her name to the hostess and was led to a table in the corner. As she approached, James stood up and greeted her with a surprising amount of tact for a rockstar. He pulled her chair out for her and she sat down and looked at him. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He'd certainly cleaned up nicely, though his hair was in the same state as when she'd met him. It was tousled and rustled so extensively that Lily hypothesized that it must never be tame. And his suit looked freshly pressed but it wasn't so nice that it flaunted his wealth. She was humbled by his appearance, though she doubted he felt the same. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She had been in such as rush to get to the restaurant that she'd forgotten that she had ran through the rain and sweated quite a bit in her efforts. Her red hair lightly clung to her forehead and neck and her cheeks were even redder than normal. Compared to James, she looked like a total wreck. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I thought you were gonna stand me up," mused James./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know I'm so sorry about being late. The girls and I were getting ready and Marlene brought a speaker and we got caught up in dancing that I completely forgot what time it was…" Her words were so rushed that even she couldn't understand most of them. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lily it's okay," James chuckled. "I'm just glad you're here."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She gave him a genuine soft smile and then diverted her attention to the approaching waitress. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can I get you all started on drinks?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll take the house red please," ordered James. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As the waitress left to process their request, Lily leaned in and lowered her voice. "Are we really going to be drinking a whole bottle?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Probably not, but it's excellent wine and if we don't finish it you can take it home as a gift."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So you've been here before then, have you?/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Whenever we go on tour, I try to find the best local places in the city. Not popularized chains or flashy locations. I want something tucked in the back corner, a hidden gem of the city."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've lived here half my life and I've never heard of this place. Though I could show you the best Indian joint this side of the continent." Lily offered, mostly joking but a part of her wishing he would take her up on it. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well we'll have to go sometime then. We're here for a week anyway, might as well learn my way around. Also wouldn't help to know the natives…" At the last part, James winked. It was a stupid cheesy line but Lily felt herself blushing anyway. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They chatted like this for the whole dinner. The wine was delicious, and James' company was even better. He was making her laugh like she hadn't in years and he was telling her things about his travels around the world. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've always wanted to travel." Lily admitted. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why haven't you?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Student loans mostly. I can't afford to take time off work and go galavanting around Asia."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Where do you work that needs you so desperately? Anything you want to know about my life is at your fingertips but I know almost nothing about you,"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I do stage managing. But not the kind you're used to. The kind that realtors need when they're trying to set up an apartment that they want to sell. I make a house look like home."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"James just looked at her, with a contemplative stare that made Lily itch to know what he was thinking. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I know it's not quite as exciting as what you do, but it pays the bills-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I love it. It takes a well trained eye to see what something needs. That's really cool." If she hadn't heard it herself, Lily would have thought he was being sarcastic. But there was something in his tone and the way he looked at her that conveyed actual genuine interest. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If you say so," she laughed, shaking her head. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When they had finished dinner, and done the dance for the bill, Lily stood up and removed her coat from the back of her chair./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, this was really nice. I had a great time-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Would you like to come back to my place?" James raced to get the words out. "It's just I had a really great time tonight and I still want to talk to you. We don't have to go, we could do anything. I just really enjoy your company."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lily said nothing but grinned instead as he blushed profusely. "How far's your hotel? I could stand for a little fresh air."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As it wasn't far from the restaurant, they duo elected to walk the journey. It was freezing but Lily was laughing so hard that she didn't care. It must have been a twenty minute walk to the hotel but it really only felt like two seconds. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They reached the door that led into the lobby; James turned to face her, looking slightly nervous. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you want to go up then?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Lily took a beat to think and then allowed him to open the door for her and stepped inside. /span/p 


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